Not only football for the Gators

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As the college basketball season is one third the way through, the Florida Gators have faired pretty well with some of the other top teams. The Gators are looking at a seven and three record with all of their losses to teams ranked in the top twenty-five. They have had to play all eleven of their games on a neutral court or away, not at home because of the Stephen C O’Connell Center at Exactech Arena reconstruction which has been going on since last spring. They hope to have the first men’s basketball game there on December 21. This game will be between the Florida Gators and University of Arkansas at Little Rock, a matchup of two teams with impressive records.

Throughout this Gator season, the top scorers for the Gators have been KeVaughn Allen (13.6 points per game), Devin Robinson (11.3), and Canyon Barry, son of Rick Barry an NBA great, (10.9). The Gators have several other scorers on their team, making the Gators a good team because on any given night a different player can score twenty or more points. The Gators as a team average 77 ppg which is a pretty high number considering that the Gators are known for having a tremendous defense. This legacy was built by Billy Donovan, but he soon left for the NBA and head coach Mike White stepped in to keep the legacy of defense which leads to offense for the Gators.

As a team though, the Gators have really put up some good numbers. They have shot 44% from inside the arc and 32% from outside the arc. The Gators have shot very well from inside the arc, but shooting three-point baskets isn’t what the Gators do best, Although they still shoot 30% from three-point range, they look for some more shooters to take over in that category of the game. The Gators average about eleven assists a game; they also force eight turnovers a game. Defensively they average a very impressive six blocks a game led by John Egbunu. On the defensive side, they only give up 67.6 points a contest.

The Gators not only have been shooting well but their passing has been amazing and it is led by two big time players. These big time players, Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza, have both averaged above three assists per game. Not only do these guys get it done on offense, they also do the job on defense as well averaging more than one steal a game along with Devon Robinson, KeVaughn Allen, and Canyon Barry. All these guys have been doing an amazing job both on the offensive and the defensive side of the ball. Some people forget about Justin Leon though, but that’s a mistake as he leads the team in three-point percentage shooting with around 40 percent from beyond the arc.

The top defensive leaders are John Egbunu, who averages 2.4 blocks a game, along with Kevarrius Hayes who averages 1.5 blocks a game. Also John Egbunu averages a very impressive 7.7 rebounds a game, the most on the team by over three rebounds a game.

Some of the Gator loses have come to some very good programs including Gonzaga, Duke, and Florida State. All of these games were within a ten-point margin, but the Gators just couldn’t pull it out. Although the Gators have lost three games, they have still received forty-four votes to be in the top twenty five, the most for any school not in the top twenty-five.

The Gators will open up conference play on December 29 where they travel to Arkansas to take on a good Arkansas ball club. The Gators are ranked the third highest for a Southeastern Conference member in the AP top 25 poll.